Griffith Park Observatory Gets with the Program

Last November, the Griffith Park Observatory re-opened after being shuttered for five years of renovations.
It’s new look was spectacular, but the bummer was soon obvious. You couldn’t park in the lot and had to take an $8 per person shuttle. The entire parking scenario took up to an hour.

As a result, attendance dropped dramatically. A full 60% to be exact. So last week the powers that be decided that free parking up on the hill is the way to go. You can now check out the observatory and events and park close by. Probably a little crowded on weekends, but much easier for a drop in visit.

12 Replies to “Griffith Park Observatory Gets with the Program”

Where was this info when I was planning my day today. Just kidding it wasn’t in your control.

What has kept us from going is that not only would I have had to spend 40 bones for the family to go on the shuttle, but by the time you add in the drive from here I’d have lost 2 hours of my day.

This is really needed. Someday they’ll figure out a better system, but that would depend on affordable mass transit. Affordable as in as cheap for a family to use as it would be taking our car. (Sorry for the soap box, but that part of the equation is missing from the transit and fare planning which must be factored in if it is going to work).

Frazgo: Wouldn’t matter anyway, since the Observatory is closed on Mondays…But yes that Line 203 bus needs to go back…Take the bus when you wanna see the actual Observatory; Drive up when you wanna show your out-of-town friends/relatives around and get their obligatory view of the City/Hollywood sign poses.

Umm. . .they had no choice about the situation. The neighbours complained so much about the traffic that they had to make nice gestures (such as the shuttle) to pretend that the renovation of the observatory wouldn’t impact their sweet little neighbourhoods when people came back. They didn’t want the shuttles at all.

Of course my friends who did the new exhibits made sure to tell me when the mandatory shuttles were going away.

Where Hoover and Alvarado split, a Spanish-language version of one of those smarmy “The Universe: By Reservation Only” posters promoting the shuttle service to the observatory stills stands. I want to tear it down and burn it.

As I understood it the shuttle was supposed to be a short term situation to control the initial rush up to see the G.O. in all its $93-million new glory. But at $8 a head it’s no surprise to me that the city kept the operation going long after it started to negatively impact attendance.

This is spectacular news. This past summer my wife and I endured being stuck in traffic on the way up and on the way down. Love the refurb job that was done but it was not worth the hassle. Can’t wait to ride my bike up there.

Ha, Kim. The trail from Fern Dell’s nice — for you baby-callers. Howsabout you get on your bike and get there the back way at night: From Traveltown up to Mt. Hollywood Drive then climbclimbclimb past the haunted picnic table to Mulholland. Then DOWN from there to the observatory. Bonus badass points if it’s under a new moon.